Episode 324: Miss Cleo Hung Up On Me

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a drunken brawl with a psychic over their prediction and is arrested for punching out a Zoltar Machine. (Again) On the show this week we follow up last week’s 900 Numbers with the face that scammed millions of Americans: Miss Cleo! (We can say that now, she’s isn’t around to sue us!)

Along the way, we learn about that one time Dave had his penis cursed by a witch he was dating. (Justified, we are sure) Then we dive right into the story of Psychic Readers Network, and Youree Harris, AKA Miss Cleo. From her humble origins scamming a community theater company in Seattle through her rise to fame as a fake Jamaican fortune teller demanding you call her now for your free psychic reading. (Not free and not a psychic reading) We take a look at what it was like to be a “psychic” on the network doing the readings. Finally, we read the stars who let us know how the Federal government put the hammer down on the Psychic Readers Network for fraud. Lastly, we tell you how Miss Cleo spent her remaining years on the planet. (Hint: still scamming!)

Our Sponsor this week is Fast Eddie’s Psychic Readers, see the past present future at 1-800-SCAMMER! We open the show with Miss Cleo and close with Guitar Space seeking answers in the tarot.  

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Closing Music https://youtu.be/rsRL2zZrlw4

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Citations Needed:

Miss Cleo on Her Allegedly Fake Patois and Getting Ripped Off By the Psychic Readers Network

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4w3edj/we-spoke-to-ms-cleo-about-her-fake-patois-and-getting-ripped-off-by-her-old-bosses

Miss Cleo left a trail of deception in Seattle

https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/article/Miss-Cleo-left-a-trail-of-deception-in-Seattle-1081919.php

I Was a Hotline Psychic for Miss Cleo

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/hotline-psychic-miss-cleo-commercials.html

FTC Charges "Miss Cleo" Promoters with Deceptive Advertising, Billing and Collection Practices

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2002/02/ftc-charges-miss-cleo-promoters-deceptive-advertising-billing-and

Miss Cleo Comes Out

https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2006/09/25/miss-cleo-comes-out

With Psychic Friends Like These …

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2002/03/yah-mon-i-predict-you-re-going-to-jail.html

Uncited Additional Reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/business/media/tv-psychic-miss-cleo-dies.html

https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/26/entertainment/miss-cleo-youree-harris-obituary/index.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-legend-of-miss-cleo

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/sfl-111502-miss-cleo-psychic-story.html

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm

https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2002/02/arscmp.pdf

https://www.thewrap.com/grand-theft-auto-makers-sued-by-psychic-readers-network-over-miss-cleo-doppelganger/

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm

https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/pop-culture-phenomenon-miss-cleo-remains-a-mystery-6323143

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/apr/04/former-psychic-network-miss-cleo-content-with/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Cleo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/27/the-bizarre-legacy-left-behind-by-the-actress-who-played-miss-cleo/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/570867/miss-cleo-psychic-empire

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